Brownie Pie

Whenever I’m feeling kind of meh, I have a few options. A nap isn’t usually possible (there are small children about), so I can either try to sneak episodes of whatever TLC show is new on Netflixwithout the li’l ones noticing, or I can make a pie. It’s hard to hide what my iPad is doing, so I think the pie wins this one.

That’s even more the case when I have a crust ready to go! I just showed you how to make a tricked-out graham cracker crust via this tutorial, so now what to do? Fill it, of course. No good deed goes unpunished, and no graham cracker crust goes unfilled. It’s the rule.

Instead of using my typical fruit or cheesecake filling, I decided to make a brownie pie. This brownie recipe (my go-to) is fudgy and dense. If you take care not to overbake it, the brownie filling will be perfectly truffle-like. See that cross-section? Pure chocolate amazingness!

When I first set out to make this, I figured I’d be able to resist it. Wrong. Something about that rich brownie in the graham cracker crust kept me heading back toward the pie plate, knife in hand, for more and more slivers. I kept sharing it with my daughters (who are chocolate fiends just like me) so that it would go away before I ate it all.

The great part about this pie is that it takes very little time. In fact, you can use one bowl, starting with the crust (and then rinsing it out) and finishing with the brownie batter. And no mixer! Happy times!

Brownies are great, but brownie pie is greater. Find out for yourself!

Graham Cracker Crust:

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

Brownie:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup flour

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a pie pan with cooking spray.

Melt the butter and white chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir until smooth, and then mix in the brown sugar and graham cracker crumbs until the mixture is moist and crumbly. Press the crust firmly into the pie pan, working the crust up the sides.

Bake the crust for 5-10 minutes until set.

While the crust is baking, make the brownie batter. Mix the cocoa into the melted butter until it dissolves. Add the sugar and stir again. When the sugar is incorporated, mix in the vanilla and eggs. Add the flour, mixing until just combined.

Pour the brownie batter into the graham cracker crust and bake for 30-35 minutes until set. Do not overbake. Cool and cut into wedges.

I fulfill many roles in life: wife, mother, teacher, everlasting learner.
This site is dedicated to one role that expresses my creativity in ways that I find consistently challenging and rewarding: baker.
Inventing new ways to enhance food, especially if that food involves chocolate or peanut butter (or both!), is a passion of mine. I look forward to sharing my ideas with you.

I just realized something quite shocking. My blog’s been around for all of two weeks and I haven’t posted anything with sprinkles yet! Must fix this problem immediately.

Sprinkles are really magic. I realized a few months back that if I put sprinkles on anything, my kids will eat it. While I’m tempted to test that theory on broccoli, that’s sort of gross. But my son, who pretends to hate chocolate, decided to eat these bars just because of the sprinkles.

See? Magic.

Which is appropriate, considering these are magic bars. The traditional magic bar has a graham cracker crust and then layers of goodness, like chocolate chips and nuts, ending off with a layer of condensed milk. While I don’t always like to mess with success, I’ve found that magic bars can be created in any flavor, anytime, which is why you will probably see a lot of them on this site.

Happy almost Cinco de Mayo, friends! I’ve got one more offering for you. Starting Wednesday, I’ll be all about Mother’s Day. Gotta love the warm holiday season!

Seriously, can we get more holidays like this into the books? I love Cinco de Mayo. It’s just great food and great weather and friends. Mother’s Day is also pretty cool. But first things first. Who can resist a margarita?

Once again, Friday is here and I’m in need of a serious dessert kick! It’s been a really nice week with Cinco de Mayo, my mini-vacation and the weather warming up, so let’s celebrate with some key lime!

I’m all about lime, all year long. But this time of year is special because it’s socially acceptable to like lime in May. In November, not so much. That doesn’t stop me from squirting lime juice onto everything all the time, from salads to fish to salsa. Mmm.

Key lime is even more fun. Those little limes are so cute! They come in a bag and they just look so happy that someone is loving them and using them in dessert. And boy, are they right. I don’t know what I’d do without those little suckers.